


the real ace

by LazuliQuetzal



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aromantic, Asexual Character, Gen, M/M, Matchmaking, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6408130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazuliQuetzal/pseuds/LazuliQuetzal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>“Why are you asking me?” Ennoshita asked. “I’m not in charge of this -- why am I even involved?”<br/>“Oh, come on,” Kinoshita said. “This is two birds with one stone! We fix Noya’s love life and we learn about Daichi’s! Don’t tell me you’re not curious as to why Sawamura Thigh-chi is single.”<br/>“Hisashi, do me a favor and make sure I never hear those words come out of your mouth again.”</p>
</blockquote>Featuring: second years bonding through failed shenanigans
            </blockquote>





	the real ace

**Author's Note:**

> This was a very self-indulgent fic written to fulfill the following headcanons:
> 
> 1\. Ennoshita has a potty mouth, and is actually a very thirsty dork.  
> 2\. Suga has a weakness for power.  
> 3\. Daichi is asexual/aromantic.
> 
> (ALL YOUR FAVES ARE ACE AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME.)
> 
> Also, I really need Kinoshita and Narita to have characters? I just. Those small little snippets of the second years hanging out _kill_ me because friendship. And like. They're part of the team too, you know?  
>  This story is probably OOC at this point, but I don't care anymore.
> 
> Note: If you're here for Asahi/Noya fluff I'm gonna warn you I can't write romance to save my life.

Tanaka had never given it much thought, really. He and Daichi were friends, yes, but since they were in different grades, their interactions outside of volleyball were limited to short glimpses during break and waving when they saw each other. He didn't know much about Daichi outside of sports, except that perhaps he maintained his ‘model-dad-student' act in basically every other aspect of his life. He didn't really know who Daichi’s friends were, besides Suga and Asahi and Kiyoko, and the thought never really crossed his mind.

But the issue initially came to his attention during an after-school practice. Daichi was unusually rushed -- not that he showed it, but Tanaka could tell -- and he kept glancing at the clock and checking the time.

Kageyama and Hinata started bickering again, and Daichi groaned as he went over to break them up. The act lasted a good fifteen minutes, and once it was over, Daichi looked at the clock and stiffened.

“Okay, times up!” he said, clapping his hands. “Clean up the place, put everything away, let’s go --”

“Why the hurry?” Noya piped up. It wasn't unusual for practice to run late; sometimes, it was even encouraged. Daichi, their terrifying captain, would often make them stay late for penalties or extra practice.

“Yeah,” Tanaka added. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Hot date, perhaps?”

“No,” Daichi said, casually maintaining his calm and collected captain facade. “I promised Yui that I’d watch their practice match. It started eight minutes ago. She’d probably kill me if I'm not there by the second set.”

He turned to Suga. “You're in charge.”

Suga saluted. “Aye, aye captain!”

To which Daichi rolled his eyes. Then he disappeared out of the gym. Suga walked over to the windows and peeked, watching as their captain disappeared around a corner. As soon as Daichi was out of earshot, he cackled, clapping his hands together.

“Oh no,” Narita grumbled. “I hate it when this happens.”

“Mmm, what was that?” Suga asked, all innocence and sunshine. “Did you just offer to take home and wash all the towels? Why thank you, Narita-kun!”

Narita looked over to the pile of sweat-drenched towels with a dead-eyed stare and groaned.

The first years were staring at Suga with wide eyes. Tanaka bit back the urge to laugh -- they hadn’t seen Sugawara high on power, yet.

“Alright! You heard our captain!” Suga beamed at the team. “Get to work!”

Tanaka walked over to the cleaning closet, silently cursing Sawamura for leaving them with _Suga_ in charge. Not that Suga was mean or rude -- far from it, to be honest -- but he did have a tendency to go overboard whenever he was given any form of authority.

His ears pricked up when he heard three familiar voices.

“Oi! No slacking!”

“But --”

“No buts! You two have fifteen minutes to mop the whole gym!”

Tanaka exited the broom closet and handed Kageyama and Hinata two dry mops.

“You’d better hurry,” he advised, thinking back to the last time Daichi left Suga in charge. “If you don’t finish in time, he’ll walk around the floor in his shoes and make you do it again.”

Kageyama and Hinata looked horrified.

“But -- it’s Suga-senpai!” Hinata gasped. “Suga wouldn’t --”

“He _would,_ ” Tanaka said. “Go!”

The two first-years scampered off, mopping as fast as they can. Within two minutes, they turned it into a competition. Tanaka dragged out the bag where they kept the volleyball net. He, Ennoshita, and Kinoshita worked together as quickly as possible to take down the nets and carry the poles back to the closet.

“I’d forgotten how Suga gets when he has power,” Kinoshita grumbled. “Thank God this doesn’t happen very often.”

“Why does Daichi-san get to leave?” Ennoshita complained. “Just because _he’s_ the captain.”

Tanaka grinned. “You’ll be doing it all the time, I bet,” he said.

Ennoshita flushed. Even after all this time, he still was embarrassed about the idea of being the next captain. “No -- I wouldn’t!”

Kinoshita grinned. “You _would,_ ” he said teasingly. “Though -- Daichi-san said he was going to watch the girls’ practice match.”

“He _is_ friends with Yui-san.” Ennoshita agreed. They reached the closet, and he plopped down the bag with the net in it.

Tanaka frowned, a sudden thought occurring to him. “Are they dating?”

“I --” Ennoshita paused, a frown coming across his face as well. “...I don’t know.”

“They do hang out a lot, now that I think about it,” Tanaka mused. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“I don’t think so,” Kinoshita said, setting the volleyball post down. “Miya-chan says that Yui-san has a crush on him, but she’s never confessed.”

“Huh,” Tanaka said. He wouldn’t be surprised if they did ever end up dating, really. Yui and Daichi both had that ‘straight-laced student’ persona thing, and he imagined they would make a cute but cliché high school couple.

But then Suga started shouting off orders again -- Kageyama and Hinata had abandoned their mopping posts, and now they had to start over -- so the second-years dropped the subject and headed off to help.

 

* * *

 

The subject was forcefully brought up again a week later, when everyone was changing out in the clubroom. Tanaka was in the middle of comparing biceps with Noya when the sound of a message alert sounds throughout the room. Simultaneously, everyone patted their pockets and checked their phones.

“Oh, that’s mine,” Daichi said, and he unlocked his phone.

Noya was close enough to see the screen, and he grinned mischievously. “I didn’t know you were dating someone, Daichi-san.”

The entire room gasped. Tanaka sucked in a breath and shoved his face closer so he could see the screen.

“Tanaka!” Daichi forcefully shoved the bald wing spiker away, but not before Tanaka caught a glimpse of the text conversation on the screen.

_ >we still on for tonight? _

_ >yeah, i’ll meet you there _

“I’m _not_ dating anyone,” Daichi protested.

“Then what was that?” Noya asked, gesturing to the screen.

“I’m meeting up with the soccer captain later,” Daichi said. “This year they don’t have a person that actually plays goalie, so they have some inexperienced first-year they want to train up. And they need tips on receiving.”

Noya perked up. “Oh! Can I come?”

“No,” Daichi said dryly. “You’re too enthusiastic to teach anyone.”

“Noya-senpai taught _me!_ ” Hinata helpfully added, and Noya turned and beamed.

“Say that again!”

“Noya-senpai!”

“Again!”

“Noya-senpai!”

Daichi rolled his eyes and typed out a response to the soccer captain.

      > _okay, im on my way._

“Playing goalie is _way_ different than receiving a volleyball,” Narita commented, staring at Daichi suspiciously.

The captain shrugged. “Well, they wanted help. It was the best I could do.”

Tanaka looked away for a second to finish changing out of his volleyball shorts. He pulled on a pair of pants and shoved the shorts into his bag. Then he turned back to where Daichi was sitting.

And blinked.

“Where’d he go?” He asked.

Noya paused in his brainwashing of Hinata. They turned to look at the space where Daichi was occupied.

“We should crash the meeting and help!” Noya said. “Let’s go meet them at the soccer field!”

Tanaka grinned. “Yeah!”

Suga’s eyes widened as they shoved their stuff into their bags. “Noya, Tanaka, _wait --_ ”

It was too late. The two excitable second years were already out the door.

With a weary sigh, Suga turned to Ennoshita. “Can you --”

“I’m already on it,” Ennoshita said with a resigned sigh. He grabbed his bag and stood up. “I’ll try and do some damage control.”

 

* * *

 

‘Damage control’ turned out to be the three of them squatting in the bushes and watching the ‘training session’ with wide eyes.

“I didn’t know it was the girls’ soccer team!” Noya whispered.

“I didn’t know he was friends with _her,_ ” Ennoshita whispered back.

“She’s so pretty,” Tanaka added. “Are they a thing?”

They watched as Daichi casually chatted with the captain of the girls’ soccer team, Himura Aina. With her long, brown hair and warm, wide eyes, she was widely regarded as one of the hottest girls in the school.

And those _legs._

It was times like these that Tanaka almost wished he played soccer instead of volleyball.

They watched as the conversation turned to training the little first-year girl. Daichi was doing his whole ‘supportive captain’ thing, and the younger girl blushed as he reassured her that the ball wouldn't kill her if it hit her in the face.

Himura was standing off to the side, a small smile on her face. Daichi paused in his instruction and shot her a grin. She winked at him.

Even though she wasn't looking in their direction, Tanaka could feel his face heat up.

“Holy crap, they _are_ a thing,” Noya whispered.

“No way,” Ennoshita whispered back. “If Himura was taken the whole school would know about it.”

“Did you not see that?” Noya asked, waving his hands at the scene before them. “She _winked_ at him!”

“That doesn't mean they're dating,” Tanaka thought aloud. “Maybe they're _almost_ dating?”

“I dunno,” Noya mused. “What would Daichi look like when he flirts? I can't decide if he's really smooth or really flustered.”

“I can't decide if you're really screwed or really dead,” a new voice spoke up behind them, and the three second years stiffened in sync.

Slowly, they all turned around at the same time. Behind them, Suga was sitting in the dirt, cross-legged. He was smiling that annoyingly bright smile of his -- the one that promised pain and a slow, drawn out death.

Ennoshita muttered a quiet _shit_ under his breath.

“Suga-san, what does Daichi act like when he's flirting?” Noya asked.

Tanaka stared at Noya, his jaw slack and his mouth wide open. Ennoshita mumbled another _fuck_ under his breath.

“Noya!” Tanaka hissed, recovering his wits.

“What? We're already dead, might as well get _some_ information out of it!”

Suga, who looked entirely too relaxed for this gripping situation, replied, “Daichi doesn't flirt.”

Tanaka blinked in surprise. “Wait, really? What do you call this, then?”

“Himura-chan has been next-door neighbors with him since junior high, apparently,” Suga shrugged. “They're close friends. I'm pretty sure this is just them being dorks.”

“Oh my God,” Ennoshita said, his eyes closed. “ _He lives next door to Himura Aina._ I'm going to pass out.”

“Can you shut up about your unattainable crush for like, two seconds?” Tanaka asked, his mind trying to wrap around this idea. “How does he get connections with all these attractive people? Where does he find them? Is there a convention? Do you have to go to a class?”

Suga blinked, his eyes focused on something behind the bushes. “Actually, I have something to get to right now.”

Tanaka blinked. He’d been joking when he brought up the class, but if it was actually a thing…

Noya looked excited. “Wait, really? It’s super late, though!”

Suga smiled as he got to his feet. Then, without warning, he dove behind a convenient tree and disappeared from view.

The sound of his shoes hitting the dirt caused Daichi, Himura, and the first-year to turn around.

Ennoshita, the self-serving bastard, turned to follow Suga away from his doom. Noya, his reflexes honed from years of playing libero, stuck his foot out. Ennoshita fell over with a panicked yelp.

“Ennoshita?” Daichi asked, his eyes flicking between the three second-years. “Noya? Tanaka -- what the _hell_?”

Tanaka stiffened as Daichi’s eyes landed on him. Somehow, he managed a tiny grin.

 

* * *

 

“So how’d it go?” Narita asked, as Tanaka, Noya, and Ennoshita sat themselves down at the lunch table they’d claimed.

Ennoshita only lifted an eyebrow, as if to say ‘ _do you really need to ask?’_

“I thought as much,” Kinoshita nodded.

“I can’t believe he didn’t believe us when we said Suga-san was there,” Noya complained. “We showed him the footprints!”

“Daichi doesn’t even believe us when we say Suga-san abuses his vice-captain privileges,” Narita said. “He thinks too highly of that guy.”

Kinoshita tapped his chin for a moment. “Let me guess: it was Himura, right?”

“How’d you know?” Tanaka asked, a little surprised.

“Chikara wouldn’t normally hop on your crazy train,” Kinoshita explained, taking a bite out of his lunch. He swallowed. “There’s probably only two, three people he’d stay to spy on. He _definitely_ wouldn’t join you guys if Daichi-san was talking with the _boys’_ soccer captain.”

“Araki can go die in a ditch,” Ennoshita said fiercely, his eyes unusually fired up.

Narita leaned over and whispered in Tanaka’s ear. “Junior high. Long story.”

Tanaka didn’t doubt it -- Ennoshita didn’t get truly _mad_ often, but when he did, he _held a grudge._

“ _Anyway,_ ” Noya said, shooting Ennoshita a concerned expression. “The real question is: how the hell is Daichi single?”

Kinoshita frowned. “How is that the only thing you took away from all of this?”

“How is it _not?_ ” Noya asked, seeming genuinely confused. “Look -- Daichi’s attractive. He’s got that whole ‘good student’ thing going for him, everyone think’s he’s cool, and he has really nice eyes and clear skin and -- those _thighs._ ”

“Those thighs,” Narita agreed wholeheartedly.

“I’m fairly certain that anyone who has ever been attracted to men -- myself included -- has had, at some point, some form of a crush on that guy,” Noya said. “And he somehow seems to be on good terms with a lot of nice, attractive people. Like Himura and Michimiya.”

“That is true,” Kinoshita mused, thinking it through. “I guess he does have a lot of attractive friends.”

“So _how_ is he single?” Noya asked.

The second-years sat for a moment, running through the scenarios in their mind.

“Maybe,” Narita said quietly. “He’s _not_ single?”

 

* * *

 

The five second-years cornered Asahi that day, during the fifteen-minute gap between their last class and volleyball practice. Noya lured him in with the promise of tonkotsu ramen, and it took about thirty seconds of intimidation to get him talking.

“No!” Asahi squeaked out. “Daichi isn’t secretly dating anyone!”

“Do you know for sure?” Tanaka said, pulling on his ‘intimidating’ face and leaning in.

“Y-yes!” Asahi said, a drop of sweat trailing down his face. “Why are you asking me this?”

“It’s a mystery, Asahi-senpai!” Noya insisted. “We have to figure out why he’s single!”

Asahi seemed ready to melt into a puddle.

“You have to admit, it’s kind of weird,” Tanaka said. “I mean, he has so many attractive friends…” he trailed off, imagining all the girls that Daichi hung out with. “Like, Kiyoko-san, and Himura-san, and…” he continued to list off names of girls that were friends with Daichi.

Narita snorted. “I keep forgetting you’re the only straight person here.”

Tanaka grinned. “Guilty.”

“But the point is -- how?” Noya asked, returning to his single-minded mission to solve the mystery of Daichi’s non-existent love life.

“He doesn't really -- He's not into girls!” Asahi squeaked. “He’s --”

“He’s gay!” Noya looked as though he’d seen the light and pounded a fist into his palm. “Of course!”

Kinoshita muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Suga' to Narita, and the two started laughing. Tanaka snickered.

“Now we have to track down all of his friends that are guys!”

Asahi looked horrified. “No, he’s --”

“Let’s go!” Noya said, cutting him off. He turned to the rest of the second years. “We have eight minutes before practice starts! Let’s start making a list!”

Asahi attempted to protest, but to no avail.

Tanaka enthusiastically followed Noya to a nearby bench, already pulling out some paper and a pen. Kinoshita and Narita shrugged before following them. Ennoshita groaned for a moment before running after the other four.

“Oh no,” Asahi groaned. “What have I done?”

 

* * *

 

If the second years were a little antsy that day in practice, well… everyone noticed it.

Tanaka and Noya were the most obvious: they made no attempt to hide their suspicious gazes every time Daichi stood within a three-foot radius of anyone on the team. Ennoshita, who normally would not have fallen under suspicion, was suffering the consequences of yesterday's adventure and had to ward off Hinata’s curious inquiries about what happened at the ‘soccer training’.

Which left Narita and Kinoshita to start their subtle interrogation of Sugawara Koushi, who had been declared the most likely target of Daichi’s affections.

From a completely and totally objective point of view, Suga was basically the embodiment of everything they imagined Daichi’s significant other to be: considerate, kind, and with a little ‘spice’ to add some interest to the relationship. Narita and Kinoshita also spent quite a bit of practice with the setter, seeing as they weren’t starters, which made them the perfect interrogators.

But Suga was also as observant as _hell_ , so really, they should’ve expected their investigation to break into tiny pieces the moment they walked into the gym.

After stretching and a good warm-up, Coach Ukai split them into groups to work on the basics -- receiving, setting, and spiking. While Noya distracted Daichi and Asahi, Narita and Kinoshita snagged Suga for their group of three, and they claimed a section of the gym.

“Okay,” Suga said, as Kinoshita returned to their corner with a volleyball. “What did you guys do?”

Kinoshita blinked. “Huh? Nothing.”

“Oh, please,” Suga said with a grin. “You second-years were on edge during the entire warm-up. Not to mention, Asahi can’t stop glancing between Daichi, Noya, and Tanaka -- _and_ you teamed up with me, instead of Ennoshita for this particular drill. Spill.”

“Chika’s just trying to stay on Daichi’s good side,” Kinoshita said, spinning the volleyball around in his hands. “I mean. He _did_ get caught spying on him. You know him. Ennoshita ‘I’m-totally-going-to-be-captain-but-I’m-going-to-pretend-I-don’t-know-that-yet’ Chikara.”

Narita snorted.

“He really respects Daichi-san and he probably wants to try and make up for the whole incident,” Kinoshita continued, his voice smooth enough to pass as truth, but not suspiciously so. He threw the ball up in the air, backed up, and let it bounce off of his forearms towards Suga.

Suga tilted his head, a confident little smirk on his face. “You know, you’re a good liar, Hisashi,” he said while lifting his arms up to toss to Narita. “But you see, Kazu-kun right here is sweating a bucket, and if that were true, Ennoshita would be the one teamed up with Daichi and Asahi, instead of Noya.”

Narita jerked his head over to look at the other group, and the ball hit him in the chest. With a yelp, he dove for the ball and missed, ending up flat on the floor. Shakily, he tried to push himself back up to his feet, but his sweaty palms slipped on the slick gym floor. Kinoshita let out a quiet groan.

“So,” Suga said, picking up the ball as it rolled towards his feet, “you’ll forgive me if I don’t quite buy that excuse.”

“Nothing gets past you, huh?” Kinoshita said, a resigned note in his voice. “Okay, fine.”

Narita blinked. “You’re going to tell him?”

“Do we have a choice?” Kinoshita asked. When Narita didn’t answer, he turned to Suga.

“You can’t tell Daichi,” he said. “He’d kill us.”

Narita hid his face behind his hands.

Suga lifted an eyebrow.

Kinoshita stared the older boy in the eyes, took a deep breath, and said: “We’re trying to set up Noya with Asahi-senpai.”

 

* * *

 

“What the _hell?_ ” Ennoshita hissed. “You can’t just -- you can’t just _say_ stuff like that!”

“What, it worked!” Kinoshita said, crossing his arms. “It’s ridiculous enough that Suga would believe it. _Plus,_ he offered to help --”

“The _fuck_?”

“-- so that’s two problems solved!”

“Much more than that, really,” Narita piped up. “Can you imagine how _dead_ we’d be if Suga found out we were trying to pry into Daichi’s love life? It’s better this way.”

“Speaking of Daichi’s love life, it’s not Suga,” Kinoshita added. “Suga said he’s waiting for college to start a relationship, and he said his relationship with Daichi-san is strictly platonic.”

“How did you manage to get that out of him?” Narita asked, looking over. “I don’t remember him saying that at _all_!”

Kinoshita smirked. “I have my ways.”

Ennoshita looked as though all his nightmares had come true at once. “I can’t believe this,” he moaned, wringing his hands through his hair. “To think that I thought _you two_ were going to be the ones I didn’t have to worry about --”

Narita barked out a laugh. “You actually thought that?”

“I can’t believe you voted me captain,” Ennoshita grimaced. “I can’t believe I have to deal with you guys for another year. _I can’t believe you are trying to set up our ace and our libero._ ”

“You can’t deny that there’s chemistry there.”

“I’m not denying the chemistry! I’m saying that this is fucking ridiculous!”

“You know, for someone who cusses so much, you’re really uptight,” Kinoshita drawled.

Ennoshita continued to have his mini freak out. “Oh my God, now I understand why Daichi is such an old man. _I_ will be the old man. Shit. Fuck. _Shit-fuck._ ”

“Language,” Narita said, almost reflexively. “So are we adding matchmaking to our investigation, too?”

“Why are you asking me?” Ennoshita asked. “I’m not in charge of this -- why am I even involved?”

“Oh, come _on,_ ” Kinoshita said. “This is two birds with one stone! We fix Noya’s love life and we learn about Daichi’s! Don’t tell me you’re _not_ curious as to why Sawamura Thigh-chi is single.”

“Hisashi, do me a favor and make sure I never hear those words come out of your mouth again.”

“You’re such a buzzkill,” Kinoshita huffed. “Besides. It’s not your problem anymore. Suga, Kazu, and I can handle the matchmaking. You, Tanaka, and Noya can go pry into Daichi-san’s relationship status.”

Ennoshita had to take a few moments to breathe. _Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale._

When he finally recovered his wits, he closed his eyes and nodded his assent. “Ugh. Fine.”

Narita and Kinoshita high-fived. Ennoshita grimaced.

“But don’t take this as permission for future matchmaking schemes!” Ennoshita insisted. “I don’t want to have to deal with this ever again!”

“Of course,” Narita said.

“Don’t worry, future-captain,” Kinoshita said. “We’ve got you covered.”  


* * *

 

Tanaka and Noya, for obvious reasons, were left in the dark about Kinoshita’s and Narita’s plan. It was a challenge -- Ennoshita was not nearly as good at lying as Kinoshita, and he was basically spending all his time with the two now that their investigation was in full swing. In order to prevent leaking the matchmaking plan, he threw himself into the “Why is Sawamura Daichi Single” investigation with uncharacteristic zeal, and Tanaka and Noya were happy to jump onto the ride.

With Ennoshita distracted, Narita and Kinoshita had free reign. Or more accurately, _Suga_ had free reign, because he took charge of the matchmaking scheme as smoothly as he could change the flow of a volleyball match.

Kinoshita, Narita, and Suga were sitting together on a bench with a good view of the vending machines. It was morning -- just before school started, and they were preparing to begin the matchmaking shenanigans.

“Okay,” Suga said, rubbing his hands together. “I have a plan.”

“What’s the plan?” Kinoshita asked.

“It’ll take three days,” Suga declared. “They’ll get together on Friday.”

Narita shivered, though he wasn’t sure why. “That’s… specific.”

“The girls’ volleyball team has another practice match that day.”

“I don’t understand the significance.”

Suga ignored their obvious confusion. “For today, though…” Suga turned and started rummaging through his backpack. He came up with some money, which he handed to the two second-years.

“What’s this for?” Kinoshita asked.

“After practice, I need you two to take the rest of the second-years out for ramen,” Suga said.

Narita glanced at the money suspiciously. “What does this have to do with your plan?”

“Specifically, I need you two to order tonkotsu ramen for yourselves.”

Kinoshita’s eyes widened in realization. “Asahi-senpai’s favorite food.”

“Exactly,” Suga said. “Don’t make _too_ much of a big deal about it, but make sure Noya notices. We need prime him and make sure he’s thinking of Asahi in a context outside of volleyball.”

“You sound scary, Suga-san,” Narita said.

“It’s psychology,” Suga explained. “Noya’s obviously attracted to Asahi. He just doesn’t recognize it, because he associates Asahi with volleyball.”

“Okay,” Kinoshita shrugged.

Narita frowned. “Do you get it, Hisashi?”

“A little bit,” Kinoshita said. “But I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. I think.”

“Remember,” Suga said, his voice low. “Subtlety.”

 

* * *

 

It was ridiculous, the amount of attractive people that Daichi knew. In two days of observation, they had seen it all -- classmates, acquaintances, friends. Ennoshita had another “hot person crisis” (as Tanaka called it) when they found out Daichi’s _other_ neighbor was a freshman in college, _and_ a competitive swimmer.

“ _Holy shit,_ ” he hissed, as they watched Daichi wave to a well-built and handsome guy with silky smooth black hair and clear gray eyes. The swimmer was wearing a loose muscle tee that clearly showed off sculpted shoulders and firm biceps.

“He lives sandwiched between _two very hot neighbors,_ ” Ennoshita whispered, unable to tear his eyes away. “I think I'm going to cry.”

“Be careful, your thirst is showing,” Narita muttered.

“This is surreal,” Kinoshita said. “Look! They're talking!”

They were indeed talking. The unnamed swimmer laughed at something Daichi said, and they exchanged a few sentences that the second-years couldn’t hear from their eavesdropping position.

Then Daichi said, “Tell your boyfriend that I said hello!”

“Will do!”

Kinoshita looked over at Ennoshita and -- yup. He was crying.

“You're being way too dramatic about this,” he said.

Ennoshita looked up. “A ridiculously hot dude who is also attracted to other dudes,” he whispered. “They _are_ real.”

“I know, but seriously,” Kinoshita said. “Don't cry too loudly, I _really_ don't want to get caught.”

Tanaka frowned. “This doesn’t tell us anything new, though,” he said. “We still don't know why he's single.”

“Maybe we should try asking him?” Narita suggested, and four pairs of eyes turned on him.

“Dude,” Noya said. “You can't just ask someone why they're single.”

“I'm pretty sure there's laws against that,” Kinoshita added.

Narita flushed and scratched the back of his neck. “It was just a suggestion…?”

“ _Fuck._ ” Ennoshita interrupted the silence, and now everyone was staring at him.

“The swimmer guy went back inside,” he explained, straining his neck.

“Keep it in your pants,” Narita said, punching Ennoshita in the shoulder.

 

* * *

 

“So how’s the matchmaking going?” Ennoshita asked, sliding into the seat next to Kinoshita and Narita.

“I thought you weren’t going to be involved.”

“I’m _not_. But I’m just asking.”

“It’s… complicated,” Narita said. “I get the feeling that Suga's been planning this for a _long_ time.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Ennoshita agreed. “What have you done so far?”

“Well, we took you guys out for ramen,” Kinoshita said, counting off on his fingers. “We’ve brought up Asahi-senpai in conversation about… thirteen times, so far. And we’ve been collecting trash in a bag, and we hid the bag in the broom closet in the gym.”

Ennoshita made a face. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s ‘priming’,” Narita said, using air quotes. “I’m still not quite sure what the trash is for, though.”

Ennoshita laughed. “He’s probably just manipulating you two into cleaning up the campus.”

“Ugh, I hope not,” Kinoshita grumbled. “I’ve gotten so many strange looks from people when I asked them if I could have their trash. Oh, wait. Here they come.”

Ennoshita looked up to see Tanaka and Noya approaching the lunch table, and all talk about matchmaking ceased. Instead, their conversation steered towards the pain of schoolwork and the struggles of being a high school student -- and for a moment, Ennoshita was able to forget about the mess he'd have to deal with.

 

* * *

 

Tanaka, Noya, and Ennoshita had followed Daichi to the school library, where he met up with two other guys. He walked up to the table they were sitting at, a kind smile on his face.

The three second years were squeezed together behind a bookshelf, peeking around the corner to keep track of what was going on.

“He’s talking with Inaba-san and Nagata-san,” Tanaka reported, since he had the best view. “Those are his classmates, right?”

“Yeah,” Noya whispered back. “I think Inaba has a girlfriend, but Nagata is single.”

They waited for a moment, only watching the interaction between Daichi and his peers.

“He just slapped Nagata on the back,” Tanaka said. “Maybe… nope. Appropriate amount of contact. Nothing weird there.”

“He’s smiling,” Noya pointed out.

“It looks like a normal smile,” Tanaka declared. “He’s probably just being friendly.”

“Weren’t these three assigned together for a group project?” Ennoshita asked, feeling uncomfortable about sneaking around in the _library_ of all places. “We probably won’t get anything out of this.”

“You never know for sure,” Tanaka pointed out, but they turned away and let the third years work on their project in peace.

 

* * *

 

“You have the speaker, right?” Suga asked.

“Yep,” Kinoshita said, waving around the Bluetooth speaker Suga had requested.

“And the keys,” Narita said, twirling the keychain around his fingers. This morning, he’d offered to close up the gym after practice, and Daichi had handed him the keys without a second thought. Suga nodded, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

The matchmaking trio made their way out of the club room and headed for the gym.

“How much trash have you collected?” Suga asked as they drew up to the entrance.

“We filled about one and a half of those large trash bags,” Narita said.

Suga frowned and thought for a moment. “That’ll have to do.”

“What is it for?”

“Today,” Suga started. “The girls’ volleyball team has a practice match.”

Kinoshita scowled. “I still don’t see what does that have to do with --”

He cut off, his eyes widening in realization.

Narita blinked and paused to look at Kinoshita. “You get it?”

“I can’t believe you,” Kinoshita whispered, staring at Suga in horror. “I _can’t believe you._ ”

Suga smiled, looking every bit the innocent angel.

Narita stiffened. “What are we doing with the trash?”

Suga turned away, casually heading for the gym entrance. “Once Daichi leaves, I need one of you to vandalize the outside of the gym.”

“We have to do _what?_ ” Narita shrieked.

“It’ll probably have to be you, Kinoshita, since Narita has the keys,” Suga mused. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. We’ll leave Noya and Asahi inside to finish mopping up. Once we get the team outside to clean up the trash, you can cover for me and Narita and we’ll lock all the exits to the gym.”

“What the _hell!_ ” Narita fretted. “Whatever happened to being subtle?”

“Oh, that was just for the first part!” Suga said, still smiling that happy smile of his. “This is the endgame, now.”

“What’s the speaker for?” Kinoshita asked, a slight grimace on his face.

“Just in case they don’t get the hint.”

Kinoshita twisted his mouth. “Do I want to know?”

“I have the instrumentals to that one English song,” Suga said, pulling out his phone. “‘Careless Whisper’.”

“The one with the sexy saxophone?” Narita asked. “What? _What?_ ”

“Don’t worry,” Suga reassured them, though the words were anything but. “We should practice the five-man synchronized attack, today.” He smiled encouragingly and entered the gym.

“How are we supposed to focus on volleyball?” Narita spluttered. “Get back here!”

 

* * *

 

They hated to admit it, but it probably would have gone better if they stuck to Suga’s plan.

 

* * *

 

Daichi, as expected, was rather rushed throughout practice. He ushered them through the warm-ups and sped through the drills with a hurried pace that didn’t escape any of the second-years’ notice.

Kinoshita and Narita were so agitated, Daichi had to physically pull them aside.

“Is everything okay?” He asked, his eyebrows slightly furrowed in concern.

“Fine!” Narita squeaked. “Peachy!”

From the other side of the court, Suga looked over. He frowned and prepared to step in.

Kinoshita stepped on Narita’s toes. “Kazu’s got a big exam tomorrow,” he said, the lie flowing out of his mouth as smoothly as ever.

Daichi smiled knowingly. “Ah. Well, we’ll be ending practice a bit early, so you’ll have time to study. Try and focus on practice, okay?”

“O - Okay!”

Daichi walked away. Suga let out a sigh of relief.

Narita almost passed out.

“You need to calm down,” Kinoshita hissed, gripping Narita by the shoulders. “At this rate, we’ll be found out!”

“I am calm!” Narita said, looking the complete opposite of calm. “And he called you out, too! _You_ need to calm down!”

Kinoshita groaned. “Ugh. Whatever. Let’s get back to the blocking drills.”

The pair headed back to the court.

Across the net, Tanaka and Noya had been paying attention to the short interaction with sharp ears.

“I wonder what Kazu and Hisashi are up to,” Tanaka mused, completely missing the way Ennoshita suddenly choked and messed up the timing for his spike.

“I wonder who Daichi’s meeting this time,” Noya added. “I know he’s ending practice early, but for what?”

“The -- the girls’ volleyball has another practice match,” Ennoshita managed to get out.

“Oh,” Noya said, looking a little disappointed. “I was hoping we’d get to meet his secret boyfriend or something.”

“Where did you hear that from?” Tanaka asked Ennoshita, calmly picking up a volleyball and returning to the drill.

“S-Suga-senpai.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” Tanaka nodded.

“Aw, hell,” Noya said suddenly, pounding a fist into his palm. “That means Suga’s in charge of clean up again!”

Ennoshita glanced over at Kinoshita and Narita. Narita looked up and shrugged helplessly.

There wasn’t really anything they could do until practice was over, anyway.

 

* * *

 

 

It started with their last water break, with a mere twenty minutes left in practice. They had just wrapped up their drills and were getting a drink before a cool down stretch and cleaning up.

The second-years were gathered together in a huddle, all of them holding a water bottle and rubbing a towel across their sweaty faces.

“Maybe Daichi-san is single,” Narita said quietly, taking care that Daichi wasn’t paying attention. “I mean, every piece of evidence we have says that he's. You know. _Not_ dating anyone.”

“That doesn't explain _why,_ ” Noya said. “Maybe he secretly has toe fungus or something? Maybe he has _ringworms._ ”

“Eww, Noya, _no._ ”

“He's probably focused on his classes,” Kinoshita decided. “He is in college-prep. Maybe he doesn't want the distraction?”

“At the very least there should --”

“Wait,” Ennoshita interrupted. “Hot person alert.”

They glanced out the window, where a tall figure strode past. After a few seconds, there was a knock on the gym doors, before it slid open to reveal a tall, lean boy with tousled brown hair and mischievous green eyes.

“Daichi-kun!” he called out, poking his head into the gym.

Tanaka sucked in a breath, his shoulders suddenly tense. _Is this who we’ve been waiting for?_

“Fujinuma Akira,” Kinoshita supplied. “Isn't he on the track team?”

Daichi rolled his eyes and stood up. He walked to the entrance and stood in front of Fujinuma. “Do you need anything?”

“Can’t I just come to visit you?” Fujinuma asked, holding his arms out for a hug.

“No,” Daichi deadpanned, and making no attempt to hug Fujinuma back.

He pouted. “You’re no fun.”

Daichi laughed and waited for Fujinuma’s response.

The taller teen chuckled and handed Daichi some papers. “Sorry. I won’t get the chance to catch you before Monday and I needed to get this back to you.”

Daichi looked at the papers before smiling. “Thanks. You won’t be at school tomorrow?”

“No,” Fujinuma said, smiling sheepishly. “I’ve got a doctor’s appointment, actually.”

“Oh,” Daichi said. “Well, I hope it goes well. Get well soon, I guess.”

“I’m not _sick,_ ” Fujinuma laughed. “It’s a check up. See you on Monday!”

“Bye,” Daichi said, his hand up in a half wave as Fujinuma ran off.

Ennoshita made a noise in the back of his throat. Narita rolled his eyes.

“He's not even that attractive,” Narita muttered.

“Ennoshita’s type is athletes,” Kinoshita said. “Obviously.”

“Ahh, that makes sense,” Narita nodded, thinking through each encounter thus far.

“Wait!” Noya said suddenly. “Are those footsteps?”

There were footsteps. The second-years stood up and walked to the gym entrance to peek out the door. They watched, mutely, as the entire Karasuno wrestling team ran by. Ennoshita whimpered as one of them winked at Daichi before sprinting off.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Narita muttered.

Daichi turned away from the door and clapped his hands. “Alright, we can start stretching --”

“No!” Tanaka said, closing the gym door with a _bang_.

The entire volleyball team jumped, startled at the loud noise. Tanaka screwed his eyes shut and leaned his forehead against the doorway.

“Um, Tanaka?” Suga asked quietly. “Are you… okay?”

“That’s _it!_ I can’t take this anymore!” He yelled, and he whirled around, his eyes burning with a fiery intensity.

“Tanaka…” Ennoshita warned, preparing to step in. “Stop it.”

Tanaka ignored Ennoshita’s warning all as he strode up to Daichi and pointed a finger at the captain’s chest.

“You!” Tanaka yelled. He turned an accusing eye onto the older boy. “Sawamura Daichi!”

“I -- Tanaka?” Daichi blinked in confusion. He looked over at the rest of the team. The first years were frozen stiff, watching the exchange with wide, fearful eyes. Suga and Kiyoko looked incredibly confused. Asahi was sweating and clenching his water bottle so hard that it sprouted a leak.

“I’m so sorry, they cornered me,” Asahi blurted out, and he hid his face behind his hands.

“What are you _talking_ about?” Daichi demanded.

“I have to know!” Tanaka insisted, eyes blazing with fury. “How can you hang out with so many attractive people and not be dating a single one?!”

Silence.

Until it was broken by a hysterical peal of laughter.

Tanaka whirled around as Kinoshita turned into a howling mess. He was choking and clutching his stomach, the laughter pouring out of him like milk from a jug. Narita elbowed him in the gut.

“Calm _down,_ ” he hissed.

Kinoshita didn’t seem to hear him as he doubled over, still laughing. Ennoshita stood awkwardly in between Narita and Noya. His lips were pressed tightly together, and he didn’t say a word.

And finally, Noya jumped out and took three leaping steps forward to stand next to Tanaka.

“Please answer the question, Daichi-san!” He shouted, bending over into a bow. “The suspense is killing me! We need to know how Sawamura Thigh-chi is still single!”

Suga looked as though all his dreams had materialized in front of him. He turned to Daichi, smiling wide.

Daichi numbly shook his head.

“Thigh-chi,” Suga whispered, his eyes watering. He started laughing, slowly at first, but then with shameless zeal. Gradually, it became harder for him to breathe. “I can't believe I didn't think of that!”

Hinata and Kageyama were pale and confused, obviously unable to comprehend what was happening before them. Yamaguchi and Yachi were still frozen with horror. Tsukishima looked away and pretended to not be paying attention to what was going on.

Daichi slapped his hand over his face. Suga’s laughter mingled with Kinoshita’s. The second-years were still expectantly waiting for a response.

“Oh my God, Tanaka,” Daichi groaned, his hand still covering his face. His neck was turning an ungraceful shade of red. “I'm _asexual_.”

Suga was crying now, unashamedly cackling as Kiyoko patted his back. Asahi frantically chugged his water bottle, all thoughts of volleyball practice forgotten.

Tanaka and Noya stood still for a moment, trying to process the words that Daichi had just said.

“A...sexual?” Tanaka asked, his voice uncertain and hesitant. “Like… mitosis?”

Ennoshita screwed his eyes shut and muttered a quiet _fuck._  Suga fell off the bench.

“No!” Daichi said quickly, throwing his hands out. “It's -- it's like -- ahhh, how do I put this,” he said, scratching the back of his neck.

The second-years leaned forward. Even the first-years seemed utterly invested in the events unfolding before them.

“Narita!” Daichi said, and the boy looked up, his shoulders tense.

“You're gay, right?” Daichi asked.

“I. Um. Yes?” Narita answered, not sure where the conversation was going.

“How do you feel about girls?” Daichi asked.

Narita bit his lip, his eyes darting to Kiyoko. “Uh. They're nice?”

“Would you want to date one?”

“No.”

“There we go,” Daichi said. “I feel about people the way Narita feels about girls.”

Noya looked honestly baffled by this new development. He frowned and studied Daichi with a curious intensity.

“That's a thing?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Oh. I didn't know that.”

Daichi shrugged and looked away. “It’s. Uh. Not very common.”

An awkward silence fell upon the team. Daichi bit his lip, looking far more vulnerable than any of the second years had ever seen before.

“That's cool!” Hinata suddenly blurted out, piercing through the tension with his innocent, lighthearted comment.

Daichi smiled a little hesitantly. “You think so?”

“Yeah!” Hinata said. “Doesn’t that make you the _ace_?”

Kageyama punched Hinata in the shoulder. “Dumbass, that’s not what being the ace is about!”

Hinata scowled. “Oi, what would you know? I’m the spiker, here! You’re just a setter!”

“I’ve played volleyball longer than you have! And what do you mean, _just_ a setter?!”

The familiar sounds of Hinata and Kageyama bickering lightened the mood. Daichi grinned in relief.

Noya turned to Asahi, who _eeped_ and blushed at the same time.

“You said he was gay!” Noya said.

“I never said that!” Asahi reminded him. “I just said that he wasn't into girls!”

Noya groaned. “You could’ve clarified! Now I’m really embarrassed!”

Asahi bit his lip and flushed. “I’m sorry!” He stood up and bowed, startling Noya.

Noya tensed up. “Um. Asahi-san?”

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you! I’m sorry for any inconvenience I’ve caused!”

Noya awkwardly reached out and patted Asahi’s head, a sheepish smile on his face. “It’s okay, I’m not actually mad…”

Suga suddenly straightened up and met Narita’s eyes.

Narita frowned and stared suspiciously at the setter.

Suga coughed.

Narita twisted his mouth, trying to figure out what Suga was trying to do.

Suga casually reached into his sports bag. Narita’s eyes widened as Suga pulled out two very familiar items.

“Aw, hell,” he muttered, as Suga adjusted the knobs on the speaker, unlocked his phone, and pressed ‘play’.

 

* * *

 

“I think that went well!” Suga said, inviting himself over to the second years’ lunch table. He took a seat in between Kinoshita and Narita, who both stiffened and scooted away.

There was no need for clarification, because Friday's volleyball practice was still on everyone’s minds.

“Define ‘well’,” Ennoshita muttered. “Fucking _mitosis._ ”

Tanaka turned red and slammed the table. “Oi! How was I supposed to know!”

“Research, you dumbass!”

“You didn’t know what it was either!”

“I didn’t think it was _mitosis_!”

“Now, now, let’s all calm down here!” Suga said, clapping his hands together. “We should be celebrating! Noya and Asahi went on a date yesterday!”

“The _only_ good thing that came out of Friday's practice,” Ennoshita commented, glancing at where Noya and Asahi were eating together at a separate table. He smiled.

“I can’t believe you didn’t _tell_ me about that!” Tanaka groaned. “I would’ve helped!”

“That’s exactly why we didn’t tell you,” Narita muttered.

“I’ve been thinking about that all weekend,” Kinoshita said, plopping his face into his hands. “Just. They were just standing there, and then--” he gestured helplessly with his hands. “The saxophone.”

Suga innocently hummed the opening riff to the song, and Kinoshita slammed his hands over his ears.

“I can’t believe it. I _trusted_ you, Suga-san. I was going to _vandalize the gym_ for you, Suga-san.”

Suga gave him a kind smile. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist.”

“Did you know I’ve had that song stuck in my head for the past forty-eight hours?” Kinoshita hissed. “I don’t even understand what that guy is saying. Every time I try to do something, it’s accompanied by the fucking saxophone intro.”

Suga shrugged. “Sorry.” The amused smile on his face said otherwise.

Ennoshita groaned. “I still can’t believe Noya called him ‘Thigh-chi’ to his _face_.”

Suga brightened. “It’s his contact name in my phone now!”

Ennoshita pointed at Suga, an accusing tone in his voice. “You derive _way_ too much pleasure from this.”

“You don’t derive enough,” Suga countered. He stood up and patted Narita’s head. “You’ll understand when you’re third years.”

The second years looked up curiously. “Hm?”

Suga shrugged. “It’s just… at the end of the day, when you’re old and working or retired or whatever, what are you going to remember? A volleyball game, or _this?_ ”

Things were silent for a moment as the second years contemplated that piece of wisdom.

“I love volleyball,” Suga said resolutely. “And I will cherish every second that I get to play. But hanging out with Daichi and Asahi and Kiyoko, messing with you guys, moments like these -- _that’s_ what I’m going to remember the most.”

Suga laughed, a lighthearted, musical sound that drifted through the air. “Just something to think about.”

And with that, he walked away.

Kinoshita glanced down at the food in front of him. Narita looked at his hands. Ennoshita pressed his lips together tightly.

After a pause, Ennoshita opened his mouth. “Guys --”

“ _Don’t_ get all sentimental now, future-captain,” Tanaka cut him off, and he shoveled some rice into his mouth. “Save it for next year.”

Ennoshita laughed and shook his head. The moment passed, and the second years returned to eating their lunch.

It was a good day.

**Author's Note:**

> As an ace/aro myself I usually just find it easier to just say that I'm ace, because _then_ you have to explain the difference between sexual orientation and romantic orientation and how sometimes they don't line up but occasionally they do and. Yeah. That's why Daichi doesn't bring up aromanticism.
> 
> Also, TEAM BONDING. PLS. My soccer coach once said something similar to what Suga says at the end and it really touched me.
> 
> As always, feedback is very appreciated! Specifically, if you have any comments on the ending? because I feel like it needs more but I'm not sure.


End file.
